Pyrophoric lighter



2 Smets-Sheet l F. MARTINDELL Pxmopnomc LIGHTER ff j Sept. 26, 1950 Filed Feb. 27, 1947 2f A im Sept. 26, 1950 F. MARTINDELL PYRoPHoRIc LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2'7',v 1947 Patented Sept, 26, 1950 PYRoPHoRIc LIGHTER Frank Martindell, Western Springs, Illl., assignor to Illinois Watch Case Co., a corporation of Illinois Application February 27, 1947, Serial No. 731,175

(Cl. V(fi-7.1)

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a pyrophoric cigarette lighter, and relates more particularly to such a lighter that is operated yby means of a movable member which will cause the Wick to be exposed Vand the pyrophoric means to be actuated when said member is pressed and the wick to be covered when the member is released.

The present invention is directed to a cigarette lighter of the type having a wick saturated with an inflammable liquid and having a flint or other sparking means adjacent the wick together with an abradant Wheel contacting the flint adapted to be rotated to direct sparks to the wick. 'Ihe abradant wheel is rotated by pressing a slidably mounted member having a iinger-engageable portion.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision ofan improved lighter of the above type that is of pleasing appearance and which is housed in a substantially rectangular casing devoid of protuberances and the like; another feature of the invention is the provision of an improved lighter of the above type having a minimum of moving parts, that is easily operated and which may be quickly disassembled for repair purposes and cleaning, and is constructed of relatively inexpensive and easily fabricated parts. Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following description and in the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention taken along line I-I of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lighter in closed or inoperative position; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to the top portion of Fig. 1, but with the lighter being in open or operative position; Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the lighter partly in horizontal crosssection; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation of the abradant wheel used in the lighter; and Fig. 7 is an end elevationV of the abradant wheel of Fig. 6.

The new lighter, which is the subject of this invention, comprises a casing having a bottom, a top partition for the casing, a Wick in the casing extending through the top partition, a bottom cover for the casing having side walls engaging the outer surface of the sides of said casing to form an assembly with the assembly being frictionally held together, and means for igniting the wick at the end extending through the top partition. The bottom of the casing ordinarily contains a lling opening for fluid closed by a removable plug and a mounting for the flint holder. The bottom cover serves to conceal the lling opening and the outer end of the flint holder so that the lighter has a smooth, unbroken appearance. No special latching means are required for holding the bottom cover in place on the casing as it is held there merely by friction. The new lighter has a windshield for the topY end of the wick formed integrally with the casing. The windshield has an open top portion and is normally closed by a ro'- tatable cover extending across the top portion when the parts of the lighter are in inoperative position. In a preferred form, the cover also includes a wick cover tube which forms a tight seal around the wick when the cover is closed. This cover tube serves to prevent, or materially reduce, evaporation of the inflammable -fluid when the lighter is not in use. The cover is mounted so that when it is raised, the end holding the cover tube moves up and the entire cover and tube also moves back. The abradant wheel is located within the windshield and is mounted on a pin extending between a pair of spaced substantially parallel ears also within the windshield and mounted on a bracket plate, which is held on the top surface of the top partition of the casing. The cover for the windshield is also rotatably mounted on this pin by linkage means extending between a second pin on the cover and the pin holding the abradant wheel. The cover is raised and the abradant wheell is turned to strike sparks from the flint by means of a slidably mounted member that is slidable on the casing and movable longitudinally of the casing. The slidably mounted member is so connected to the cover and the abradant wheel that when the member is moved downwardly, the cover is simultaneously rotated and moved out of the way and at the same time the abradant wheel is rotated. The bracket plate which holds the two upstanding ears is mounted on the top partition by means of a single bolt and nut arrangement. The abradant wheel pin is slidably held by the ears with the ends of the pin being adjacent the inner surfaces of the sides of the windshield. Thus, the bracket plate, ears, and abradant wheel may be removed from the assembly as a unit merely by removing the nut. The bolt and nut arrangement which holds the bracket plate and the above lassembly preferably also holds the top end of the wick. The bolt in this embodiment is a cylindrical member having a threaded outer surface and a head portion with the head portion ordinarily located beneath the top partition and extending therethrough, with the interior of the cylinder containing the wick. The nut is adapted to engage the threads on the cylinder. The abradant wheel ina preferred form of the'invention has at least one side cut away to forma ratchet surface with the teeth being substantially radially aligned with the axis of rotation of the wheel. A pawl is rotatably mounted on the vpin that extends between the two ears and `has a ratchet engaging portion.

r'Means are provided for rotatably turning the -mainder IIb of the partition.

pawl to rotate the ratchet and strike sparks from the flint. The pawl is operated by the slidably mounted member thatv serves to raise the cover and expose the wick. As can be seen, the lighter may be easily assembled and disassembled and most of the parts may be made of stamped pieces that are relatively inexpensive.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the improved lighter comprises a casing I having a top partition II, bottom I2, and top edges I3 forming a windshield, a wick I4 extending. through vthe top partition II, a flint I5 or other sparking means also extending through the top partition II, and an abradant wheelv 33 in contactv with the flint, and a slidable mounted member I6 -mounted on the top edge of the casing I Il and serving to operate the abradant wheel 33.

The bottom I2ofthe casing is provided with a filling opening I1 through which inflammable fluid may be fed into the interior of the casing l0. This lling opening is normally closed by a closure member i3 comprising a threaded plug Ia provided with a head I9. The inner portion of the closuremember has a chamber 26, which may be used to hold spare flints. The plug I 8a is separable from the chamber portion 2| so as 'to provide accessv to the chamber 20. The bot- 'tom of the casing I6, including the bottom I2,

is normally covered by a bottom cover 25 slidably mounted thereon and held by friction only. This bottom cover serves to conceal the plug I8a and the removable cap 24.

The wick I4, which extends through the top partition Il, is coiled within the casing I0 between the top partition II and the bottom I2.

This wick is kept saturated with uid and the Xfluid may be renewed by removing the bottom cover 25 and inserting fresh uid through the opening I1.

The top of the casing Ill has an end portion 26 and adjacent side portions arranged on a level lower than the remainder of the top edge. This remainder of the top edge constitutes the windshield I3. The top partition II has a corresponding part IIa also lower than the re- On top of the higher portion IIb of the partition II, there is located a bracket plate 21. The wick I4 extends through the part I Ib and the bracket plate 21. The top end of the wick is held within a cylinder 28 having a head 29 beneath the top partition I I with the cylinder extending through the bracket plate 21. This cylinder is provided with a threaded outer surface which is engaged by a nut 36 on top of the bracket plate. The cylinder 28 not only serves as a wick tube to hold the wick, but also serves as a bolt to hold the bracket plate 21 on the higher portion IIb of the top partition.

The bracket plate 21 is provided with a pair of spaced substantially parallel upstanding ears 3I. These ears are located within the windshield I3 adjacent the rear thereof. Extending between the top portions of the ears 3| and loosely held therein is a pin 32. Rotatably mounted on the pin 32 is an abradant wheel 33 having abradant teeth 33a on its peripheral surface with the teeth arranged to contact the flint I5. The ends of the pin 32 are located adjacent the windshield I3 and this serves to hold the pin in place.

" The entire assembly may be removed by merely removing the nut 30 to release the bracket plate 21. When the bracket plate and attached ears are removed from within the windshield I3, the pin 32 may be easily withdrawn from the ears 3l thereby releasing the abradant Wheel 33.

Extending across the top of the windshield I3, is located a cover 34 This cover is somewhat longer than the higher portion IIb of the top partition II. The cover is provided with a downwardly extending substantially cylindrical wick cover tube 35 which is arranged to press tightly against the top 30a of the nut 30 and extend around the wick I4 to form a tight seal when the cover is closed. This not onlyserves to snui the flame'burning from the wick I4, but also prevents or materially reduces evaporation of the inammable fluid.

The end of the cover 34 opposite the cover tube 35 is provided with a pair of downwardly extending ears 36 spaced inwardly from the sides of the windshield I3. Extending between these ears 36 is a secondl pin 31, with this pin being located above the rst pin 32. The rst pin 32 and the second pin 31 are connected by a pair of spaced links 38 rotatably mounted on both pins. Also extending between the ears 36 on the cover 34 there is located a third pin 39 spaced rearwardly of the first pin 32 and the second pin 31.

The abradant wheel 33 has one side cut away to form a ratchet surface 40. The ratchet teeth 4I have edge portions substantially radially aligned with the axis of rotation of the wheel. Also mounted on the lirst pin 32 is a ratchet pawl 42 having a ratchet engaging portion 43 for engaging the teeth 4I. The teeth 4I and the ratchet engaging portion 43 are so arranged that when the pawl is rotated in a counterolockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 5, the abradant wheel 33 will also be rotated in a counterclockwise direction.

The pawl 42, including the ratchet engaging portion 43, is made of relatively thin spring steel. The pawl is held in engagement with the ratchet surface 4E! by means of a washer 49 arranged between the upstanding ear 3I adjacent the pawl 42 and the corresponding link 38. v

The portion of the pawl 42 surrounding the first pin 32 is of substantially annular shape with an edge portion of the annulus being displaced to form the ratchet engaging portion 43. Extending from the annular portion of the pawl 42 are two spaced substantially parallel extended portions 44 forming a bifurcated construction. The third pin 39 is held between these extended portions 44.

InI order to rotate the cover 34 and turn the abradant wheel 33, there is located a slidably mounted member I6 on the portion of the casing I!) above the bottom cover 25 and immediately above the lower portion I Ia of the top partition II. This member I6 is provided with sides I6a extending over the ears 36. The third pin 39 has its ends held in these side portions I6a with the pin extending through the ears 36. The slidable member I6 has a nger-engageable top surface I6b vby which the member may be pressed down. On the inner surface of this portion I6b, there is located a downwardly extending cylinder 45 with the cylinder engaging the top of a guide rod 46 mounted on the top of the lower portion i i a of the partition l l. The cylinder 45 serves as a slide tube and is axially aligned with the guide rod 45. In order to hold the slidable member I6 in its topmost position, there is provided a coil compression spring 4l extending between the base 48 of the cylinder l5 and the portion of the partition li around the guide rod 49.

With this construction, the lighter is operated by pressing the member I6 down. This serves to rotate the cover 34 and the wick cover tube 35 with pin 'ril and the links 38 about the pin 32 and move the entire assembly up and back as shown in Fig. 3. It also serves to rotate the pawl 42 and thus the abradant wheel 33 to strike sparks from the flint I5. Upon releasing the slidable member I3, the spring 4l causes the member to be raised to its top position as shown in Fig. l thereby lowering the cover 34 together with the wick cover tube 35. The bottom of the wick cover tube forms a seal with the sloping top surface 30a of the nut 39 to snuff the flame and also to seal the area around the wick i4.

The various parts of the new lighter are relatively inexpensive to make and they may be easily assembled and disassembled. When it is necessary to replace or repair the moving parts, all moving vparts may be disassembled by merely removing the nut 30 to release the bracket plate 27. The abradant wheel 33, cover 34, slidable member i8, and pawl 42 are all held in place by the bracket plate 21 which in turn is held only by the threaded cylinder 28, and nut 30. The threaded cylinder 28 also serves to hold the wick i4.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A pyrophoric lighter, comprising: -a casing; a top partition therefor with the upper edges of the casing extending beyond said top partition; a wick within said casing having its end extending through said top partition, said upper edges serving as a windshield for said end of the wick; an abradant wheel within said upper edges; a first pin upon which said abradant wheel is rotatably mounted; a sparking means engaging the abrading surface of said wheel; a cover for said upper edges; downwardly-extending spaced ears on said cover adjacent said first pin; a second pin extending between said ears and spaced from the rst pin; linkage means connecting said rstand second pins with the linkage means being rotatably mounted on both said pins; means for depressing the end of the cover adjacent the pins to raise the end adjacent the wick and to rotate the linkage means about the iirst pin and simultaneously to rotate the cover with the second pin, whereby the cover is simultaneously moved up and back from the wick; and means for turning said abradant wheel to strike sparks from the sparking means with the sparks being directed toward the wick.

2. A 'pyrophoric lighter, comprising: a casing having one end portion and adjacent side portion of its upper edge on a level lower than the remainder of said upper edge; a top partition for the casing with the upper edges of the casing extending beyond said top partition, said top partition also having a portion lower than the remainder of the top partition with the position of the lower portion of the top partition corresponding to the position of the lower portion of the upper edges; a wick extending through the higher portion of said top partition; an abradant wheel on said higher portion of the top partition; a pin upon which said abradant wheel is rotatably mounted; a sparking means engaging the abrading surface of said wheel; a cover for the higher portion of said upper edge of the casing with the cover extending over the abrading wheel and the wick; downwardly-extending spaced ears on said cover adjacent said first pin; a second pin extending between said ears with the second pin being spaced from the first pin; linkage means connecting said first and second pins with the linkage means being rotatably mounted on both said pins; a member slidably mounted on the portion of the casing above the lower portion of said top partition; a third pin held by said slidably mounted member and rotatably engaging said downwardly-extending ears on the cover, said third pin being located rearwardly of the first and second pins; means urging the slidably mounted member toward its highest position; a nger-engageable surface on said member for depressing said member so that the third pin causes the linkage means to rotate about the rst pin and the cover to rotate about the second pin, whereby the cover is simultaneously moved up and back from the wick; and means for simultaneously turning the abradant wheel to strike sparks from the sparking means.

3. A pyrophoric lighter, comprising: a casing; a top partition for said casing; a wick in said casing extending through said top partition; means for igniting the wick at the end extending through said top partition; a movable cover and sealing means for said end of the wick forming a seal around the extending end of-the wick when the cover is closed; an elongated linkage means having one end rotatably attached to said cover adjacent the end of the cover that is opposite said wick and the other end operatively and rotatably attached to said casing; and means for depressing the end of said cover opposite said wick and adjacent said linkage means to rotate the linkage means and cover about the end of the linkage means that is rotatably attached to the casing, said cover rotating with the end of the linkage means that is rotatably attached to the cover, so that the end of the cover adjacent the wick is moved up and the entire cover is simultaneously moved back from the wick.

FRANK MARTINDELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,820,131 Fischer Aug. 25, 1931 1,967,885 Holtzman July 24, 1934 2,038,048 Klstrom Apr. 21, 1936 2,053,649 Aronson Sept. 8, 1936 2,164,872 Evans July 4, 1939 2,194,844 Bolle Mar. 26, 1940 2,433,707 Phillips Dec. 30, 1947 2,461,330 Landwehr Feb. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 350,733 Great Britain June 18, 1931 387,300 Great Britain Feb. 2, 1933 .685,360 France Nov. 22, 1929 

